For a less crowded and altogether different canyon flavor, Island in the Sky, in Canyonlands National Park, is the place to be. A 1.8-mile hike through lizard condo-land gets me to Murphy Point, where I pause to sit at the edge of the world. The morning light is exquisite on the canyons. It is so quiet I can hear the whir of violet-green swallows catching breakfast bugs on the wing. When I sit very still, they zoom within two feet of me. A chipmunk chirps nearby.Then, wow. Raindrops! Pattering one by one on stone, my clothes, my daypack beside me. The wet drops feel cool against my bare legs, arms, and shoulders. It’s a spit of water, dry almost as fast as it lands on hot rock. But the swallows are gone as soon as it starts. It lasts four minutes. Breezes return. The swallows come back after the bugs. And the bugs come back after me.
I drive to Grand View Point Overlook and take the easy 1-mile hike to the southmost outcropping for more amazing views of the river-carved landscape. I finish in the early afternoon with a swing by Mesa Arch, where I climb on top of the arch and stare down into a canyon hundreds of feet deep beneath me (but not for very long).
The road to Canyonlands park entrance. This area is still used for cattle grazing, if the cattle grates and signs are any indication.
Part of trail to Murphy Point.
Lizard tracks.
“Don’t Bust the Crust” is the desert slogan and plea to stay on the trails. Crust is a living network of bacteria that takes up to 200 years to grow a fraction of an inch. It plays a vital role in the water retention, nutrient exchange, and survival of the entire desert ecosystem.
A closer look at crust.
Trail-defining branches help keep feet from straying onto crust.
Desert still life.
Raindrop prints.
At a stop on the trail.
The world is an exciting place from a cliff edge.
A piece-it-together-yourself panorama shot. View to the left. The Green River is just visible snaking in that canyon basin. The Colorado is on the other (east) side of this peninsular plateau. The rivers meet south of Grand View Point and continue on as the Colorado.
View to center.
View to the right.
Near the end of line at Murphy Point. Note the stone cairns that mark the trail.
I forget what this formation is called, but it’s visible from a lot of places. Here from Murphy Point...
...and here, closer, from Grand View Point.
At Grand View Point, looking southeast.
And southwest.
I was fascinated by the many ways water affected the rock. Everywhere I looked was sculpture.
One scraggly hanger-on.
Sandstone seems to invite more than water to carve it.
Lichen does some weird things.
Trees will grow anywhere, even on a troll’s face.
Footprints to Mesa Arch.
The arch.
A view through Mesa.
On top of Mesa Arch. It’s not nearly as scary to climb as it looks.
